{"id":39662,"date":"2020-01-27T18:39:12","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T23:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=39662"},"modified":"2020-01-27T18:39:12","modified_gmt":"2020-01-27T23:39:12","slug":"reflections-on-the-tree-of-life-part-2-the-presence-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2020\/01\/reflections-on-the-tree-of-life-part-2-the-presence-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on the Tree of Life, Part 2: The Presence of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

Truman G. Madsen once wrote: \u201cReligious literature, ancient and modern, is replete with images of a tree of life that is to be planted in a goodly land by a pure stream. \u00a0Some typologies regard it as the link at the very navel of the earth\u2014the source of nourishment between parent and child\u2014and place it at the temple mount in Jerusalem, where heaven and earth meet. \u00a0The fruit of this tree is most precious.\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0 The tree of life is often portrayed as a tree from heaven, a symbol of paradise or of God\u2019s presence itself.\u00a0 Hence, it is fitting that imagery of the tree of life is often present in the temples\u2014places where heaven and earth meet.<\/p>\n

The tree of life tends to be found in places where God is present. \u00a0An interesting article published in the Ensign<\/em> years ago observed: \u201cTree of life symbolism permeates the Old Testament. The tree symbolizes not only eternal life but also God\u2019s presence. For example, Adam and Eve\u2019s exclusion from the tree was also exclusion from the presence of the Lord. Thus, whenever man regained God\u2019s presence, a tree of life representation was used to symbolize that reunion.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0 The initial tree of life is found in the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve \u201cheard the sound of the Lord God walking the garden\u201d (Genesis 3:8).\u00a0 When they were cast out from the garden and the tree, they were \u201ccut off both temporally and spiritually from the presence of the Lord\u201d (Alma 42:6-7).\u00a0 At the other bookend of the Bible, John the Revelator stated that the tree of life \u201cis in the paradise of God\u201d (Revelation 2:7) and it is a promised blessing that we will partake of the fruit \u201cto everyone who conquers\u201d (Revelation 3:21).\u00a0 In both of these situations, the tree of life is depicted as being in a location where God dwells.<\/p>\n

In other places in the Bible, trees and plants are used as a symbol of divine presence.\u00a0 Most notably, this occurs when Moses was called by the angel of the Lord \u201cin a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed\u201d (Exodus 3:2).[3]<\/a>\u00a0 One Bible commentary suggests that the \u201cbush (Heb[rew] \u2018seneh\u2019) is an unidentifiable but specific type of bush, perhaps alluding to Sinai (as also Deut 33:16), another place of divine presence and revelation.\u00a0 God\u2019s appearance in a bush may also reflect the role of plants or trees as symbols of fertility and divine presence.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 The burning bush is an example of God\u2019s presence being represented in arboreal imagery.<\/p>\n

Other places where tree imagery and the presence of God are brought together are the tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple of Solomon.\u00a0 We read that God\u2019s presence and glory filled these structures (see Exodus 40:34; 2 Chronicles 5:13-14).\u00a0 Within each of these sacred locations were placed several objects that represented of the presence of God.\u00a0 Among these were the menorahs\u2014golden lamps that burned continuously.\u00a0 The description of these lamps uses tree imagery, including branches and cups \u201cshaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals\u201d (Exodus 25:31-37). \u00a0Drawing on this fact, the New Oxford Annotated Bible <\/em>notes that: \u201cthe wealth of botanical terms \u2026 suggests that in shape and decoration, it represented a sacred tree.\u201d[5]<\/a> \u00a0With the menorahs in the temple and tabernacle, symbolic trees resided in important places where God\u2019s presence also resided.<\/p>\n

As mentioned in a previous post<\/a>, the tree of life in the Garden of Eden can be an allegory for the Plan of Salvation.\u00a0 In entering mortality with its fallen conditions, we are cut off from the tree of life.\u00a0 It is ultimately the goal, however, to return and to partake of the fruit of the tree and gain eternal life.\u00a0 When viewing the tree as a symbol of God\u2019s presence, the allegory works as well.\u00a0 Through the Fall, we are cut off from the presence of God, but one purpose of the Plan of Salvation is to come back into God\u2019s presence and be reconciled with Him.\u00a0 This symbolism can be found in the temples.\u00a0 Some scholars have even suggested that the ancient houses of God were built to reflect the layout of the Garden of Eden to symbolize this idea.\u00a0 Donald W. Parry, for example, wrote that:<\/p>\n

Anciently, once a year on\u00a0Yom Kippur<\/em>, the Day of Atonement, Adam\u2019s eastward expulsion from the Garden was reversed when the high priest traveled west past the consuming fire of sacrifice and the purifying water of the laver, through the veil woven with images of cherubim. Thus, he returned to the original point of creation, where he poured out the atoning blood of the sacrifice, reestablishing the covenant relationship with God.[6]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this interpretation, the Hebrew temple represented the Garden of Eden and the rituals of the temple represented a reversal of the Fall of Adam and Eve.<\/p>\n

Symbolism of the journey away from and then back towards the tree of life can be found in modern temple endowments as well.\u00a0 Elder James E. Talmage noted that:<\/p>\n

This course of instruction includes a recital of the most prominent events of the creative period, the condition of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, their disobedience and consequent expulsion from that blissful abode, their condition in the lone and dreary world when doomed to live by labor and sweat, the plan of redemption by which the great transgression may be atoned.[7]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then, as historian Richard Lyman Bushman wrote, \u201cAt the end, the participants enter\u2026 symbolically into the presence of God.\u201d[8]<\/a> \u00a0By following the narrative of Adam and Eve and symbolically entering the presence of God at the end, the endowment follows the symbolic journey of expulsion from the tree of life and subsequent return when properly prepared to do so.<\/p>\n

Viewing the endowment in this way also provides insights into President Brigham Young\u2019s description of the endowment ceremony. \u00a0He taught that those who receive their endowment \u201creceive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being able to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.\u201d[9]<\/a>\u00a0 President Young draws on both the imagery of passing the angels (cherubim and a flaming sword) and walking back to the presence of the God (the tree of life).<\/p>\n

How do we return to the presence of God?\u00a0 One of the most obvious is that we will be brought into the presence of God after the resurrection for judgement, since \u201cthe resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord\u201d (Helaman 14:17).\u00a0 We also aim to enter the Celestial Kingdom, where we can \u201cdwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever\u201d (D&C 76:62).\u00a0 As symbolized in the temples, life is journey away from paradise into a fallen world, but with the eventual plan being to return to live in paradise after reconciliation with God.<\/p>\n

Another way we enter the presence of God comes to mind, though.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead and is the main means by which we experience the presence of God during our lives on earth.\u00a0 When Nephi saw the tree of life, he came to understand that the tree represented \u201cthe love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things\u201d (1 Nephi 11:22).\u00a0 While Nephi seems to see the tree primarily as a symbol of Jesus the Christ, the description of the love of God being shed abroad in the hearts of men calls to mind the Holy Spirit as well, since \u201cthe fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control\u201d (Galatians 5:22-23).\u00a0 I am reminded of Joseph Smith\u2019s description of immediate aftermath of the First Vision (another occasion where divine presence was manifested among trees): \u201cMy soul was filled with love and for many days I could rejoice with great Joy and the Lord was with me.\u201d[10]<\/a>\u00a0 The companionship of the Holy Ghost is a way that the Lord can be with each of us, and thus ties into the symbolism of the tree of life.<\/p>\n

Looking at the tree of life as a symbol of the Holy Spirit also can be used to understand how we are nourished by the fruit of the tree throughout life.\u00a0 It should be noted that trees are important sources of the necessities of life.\u00a0 That is why Truman Madsen stated that the tree of life was the source of nourishment between parent and child, the navel (or umbilical cord) of the world.\u00a0 The olive tree, for example, produces fruit that can be eaten or used to make oil. \u00a0That oil can be used in food, as an ointment believed to hold healing and soothing properties, and as lamp oil to create light and heat.\u00a0 Almond trees are one of the first trees of spring in western Asia, bursting forth in radiant white and bearing the almond nut, another food source.\u00a0 Date palm trees are very important and useful, since they produce dates;[11]<\/a> fronds used to make thatched roofing, baskets, and rope; wood used for construction; and shade.\u00a0 Each of these trees produce products that were important to the lifestyles of the ancient Near East and each of them has been suggested as a \u201ctree of life\u201d because they nourish and sustain life.<\/p>\n

Likewise, throughout life, we look to God for nourishment and sustenance.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit is a means by which He gives us strength and fills us with \u201cexceedingly great joy\u201d (1 Nephi 8:12).\u00a0 As Elder B. H. Roberts put it:<\/p>\n

After water baptism comes the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Knowing our human weakness, knowing human inability to live unassisted upon the high moral plane projected in the ethical teachings of the gospel, God brings to our poor, human weakness the strength of God by imparting the Holy Spirit, which is the link that shall hold us to God, the medium of communication between our souls and soul of God; making, at need, God\u2019s strength our strength, his wisdom, as we may bear it, our wisdom, and his righteousness our righteousness.[12]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When we enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we are linked to God and nourished and strengthened by that connection. \u00a0In a way, each one of us becomes a temple of God where His presence dwells when we have the Holy Spirit with us in our hearts.\u00a0 That Spirit also lights our way like a lampstand in the temples of ancient Israel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Truman G. Madsen, \u201cThe Olive Press\u201d, Ensign, <\/em>December\u00a01982.<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> C. Wilfred Griggs, \u201cThe Tree of Life in Ancient Cultures,\u201d Ensign<\/em>, June 1988<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> See also Deuteronomy 33:16. All Bible references are made using the New Revised Standard Version.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Michael D. Coogan, Ed., New Oxford Annotated Bible<\/em>, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 86n.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Coogan, New Oxford Annotated Bible, <\/em>Exodus 25:31-40n, p. 119.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Donald W. Parry, Garden of Eden: Prototype Sanctuary<\/em>, in Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism<\/em>, ed. Donald W. Parry, (SLC: Deseret Book Company, 1994), 135.<\/a><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> James E. Talmage, The House of the Lord <\/em>[Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1962], pages 99\u2013100.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling<\/em>, p. 450.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Discourses of Brigham Young, <\/em>comp. John A. Widtsoe (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1971), 416.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> “History, circa Summer 1832,” p. 3, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed January 27, 2020, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/history-circa-summer-1832\/3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> As an interesting side note, syrup produced from dates is likely the honey referred to in the promised \u201cland flowing with milk and honey\u201d (Exodus 3:8).<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> The Essential B.H. Roberts<\/em>, ed. Brigham D. Madsen (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1999), 221.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Truman G. Madsen once wrote: \u201cReligious literature, ancient and modern, is replete with images of a tree of life that is to be planted in a goodly land by a pure stream. \u00a0Some typologies regard it as the link at the very navel of the earth\u2014the source of nourishment between parent and child\u2014and place it at the temple mount in Jerusalem, where heaven and earth meet. \u00a0The fruit of this tree is most precious.\u201d[1]\u00a0 The tree of life is often portrayed as a tree from heaven, a symbol of paradise or of God\u2019s presence itself.\u00a0 Hence, it is fitting that imagery of the tree of life is often present in the temples\u2014places where heaven and earth meet. The tree of life tends to be found in places where God is present. \u00a0An interesting article published in the Ensign years ago observed: \u201cTree of life symbolism permeates the Old Testament. The tree symbolizes not only eternal life but also God\u2019s presence. For example, Adam and Eve\u2019s exclusion from the tree was also exclusion from the presence of the Lord. Thus, whenever man regained God\u2019s presence, a tree of life representation was used to symbolize that reunion.\u201d[2]\u00a0 The initial tree of life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":39664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,53,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-doctrine","category-latter-day-saint-thought","category-scriptures"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/543px-Menorah_0307.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39662"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39665,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39662\/revisions\/39665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}